Pollution News

Shell's North Sea oil spill is ''worst for a decade''

Posted Tue, 16 Aug 2011 11:03:01 GMT by Laura Brown

As second leak is discovered on the Gannet Alpha platform Shell is accused of not releasing information fast enough about the spill. Confirmation on the amount of oil leaked too several days to emerge. This morning (Tuesday) a second leak was discovered at the Gannet Alpha platform, which is 111 miles east from Aberdeen.

Fukushima radioactive load nailed-down by sulfur study

Posted Mon, 15 Aug 2011 19:01:00 GMT by Martin Leggett

A Californian monitoring station, thousands of miles from the scene of the Japanese tsunami disaster, has produced one of the first concrete estimates of the neutron flux of the doomed Fukushima plant. The pulse of radioactive sulfur, a byproduct of spraying seawater onto the radioactive core, also helps to firm up our understanding of sulfates in the atmosphere, says the paper in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Power stations cleared of acid lake effect

Posted Tue, 02 Aug 2011 17:53:00 GMT by Colin Ricketts

Lakes which were protected from acidification thought to come from power station emissions may, in fact, have been more acide under 'natural conditions'. As Sweden has thousands of lakes the Swedish government was particularly active, instigating a programme of liming acidified lakes.

Time to tax plastic carrier bags?

Posted Fri, 29 Jul 2011 17:57:00 GMT by Laura Brown

As the use of plastic carrier bags in the UK rises by 300 million, is it time for a tax? Figures released mapping the number of plastic bags used between 2009 and 2010 showed an increase of almost 300 million, a 5% increase.

Mass poultry production causes water pollution

Posted Wed, 27 Jul 2011 14:34:00 GMT by Kieran Ball

Large scale broiler production is affecting water quality in Chesapeake Bay. A report from Pew Environment Group, Big Chicken: Pollution and Industrial Poultry Production in North America, claims that the vast scale of these operations poses a real threat to the environment.

'Deepwater' oil snatched from depths helps to map lurking oil plumes

Posted Mon, 18 Jul 2011 19:00:00 GMT by Martin Leggett

A new paper, out on Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences today, is casting light on what happened to the flood of oil from BP's Deepwater Horizon unprecedented spill. The results of the analysis of the uniquely-obtained oil samples - from both the gushing well-head, and the drifting oil plumes discovered 3,600 feet down - are helping to map out the implications of the Deepwater Horizon oil spill for the Gulf of Mexico, and the ongoing risks of deep-water drilling for oil in the future.

Ocean acidification puts California mussels at risk

Posted Fri, 15 Jul 2011 15:25:00 GMT by Kieran Ball

Californian ecosystems could soon be affected by ocean acidification. Ocean acidification could significantly affect the number of California mussels (Mytilus californianus) reaching maturity and consequently, have a detrimental impact on the marine ecosystems of Californian coastal regions.

Bacteria transform landfill methane

Posted Tue, 12 Jul 2011 15:58:00 GMT by Colin Ricketts

Biofilters can convert around a fifth of the wasted methane from old landfill sites into less harmful gases says new research. Methane has a much greater impact on global warming per amount of gas than carbon dioxide and landfills account for 12% of global anthropogenic methane emissions.

Fish feeding on plastic in ocean's 'Garbage Patch'

Posted Fri, 01 Jul 2011 15:02:00 GMT by Colin Ricketts

A team of American researchers have travelled to the Pacific Ocean's dirtiest waters to find that nine per cent of the fish there are eating our waste in the form of tiny specs of plastic. The garbage patch is known more correctly as North Pacific Subtropical Gyre, 1,000 miles off the Californian coast, and it was discovered that fish are eating 12,000 to 24,000 tons of plastic each year.

NASA launches planes to tackle air pollution

Posted Thu, 30 Jun 2011 14:18:00 GMT by Laura Brown

New project launches to help improve scientists ability to track air pollutants via satellite. Low flying planes will be seen across Maryland in a programme called DISCOVER-AQ which is designed to improve the ability of satellites to measure the ground level air quality on earth from space.

Plug Ghana's poor into gas network, and halt smoke-related illnesses

Posted Mon, 20 Jun 2011 19:00:00 GMT by Martin Leggett

A new study on the use of fuels in Ghana's capital shows that the poor are locked out of clean fuel use - so suffering from increased pollution from tiny particles in cooking smoke. With the country developing its natural gas potential, the authors - publishing in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences - argue that both the health of the poorest, and the country's forests, will benefit from the slashing of charcoal use, in favor of gas.

Cities Change Wind Patterns, Raising Pollution

Posted Tue, 07 Jun 2011 23:52:00 GMT by Melanie J. Martin

Warm nighttime temperatures change wind patterns, trapping pollutants in cities. Amongst U.S. cities, Houston has some of the highest levels of pollutants like ozone at the ground level. In Houston, urban development inhibits winds from sweeping pollutants out to the ocean at night.

Cleaning the waters with the power of the Sun

Posted Wed, 01 Jun 2011 16:54:00 GMT by Colin Ricketts

Algae could be used to clean polluted waters and scientists believe there could even be money to be made from the process' byproducts. The algae - described as turf scrubbers - are used in areas the size of fields and can 'clean' water contaminated with nitrogen and phosphorus.

Doubts raised by scientists that microbes consumed much of the Deepwater Horizon methane plume. All organic life on earth utilises carbon as a nutrient. Some bacteria are able to ingest methane, the simplest hydrocarbon, to satisfy this need, in part at least.

Local communities empowered to take on ocean's acidic hotspots

Posted Thu, 26 May 2011 18:00:00 GMT by Martin Leggett

Acidic hotspots in coastal waters can destroy local livelihoods, as well as damage marine ecosystems. But a Policy Forum paper in tomorrow's Science claims that US communities have the power in their own hands to practically deal with such hotspots - without waiting for foot-dragging state and federal authorities to lumber into action.

Isotopic studies reveal a shift in the importance of nitrogen pollution sources in the Caribbean

Posted Wed, 18 May 2011 09:00:00 GMT by Mike Campbell

A study has found that the prevalence of fertiliser-derived nitrogen as a pollution source in the Caribbean is declining. This is attributed to the adoption of more environmentally sensitive agricultural practices in recent years which have changed fertiliser application practices.

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When dolphins are 'rescued' in various countries, the car given seems to be ill-considered. We are simply looking at the success rate which is reported to be low, in most places. They could even end up in commercial aquarium shows, but they certainly rarely make it back to the sea.